SAA event in Nigeria on Sun 17th March 2024

At least 95 people were kidnapped in Kaduna state in a new attack by gunmen during the night in north-central Nigeria, authorities and local leaders told EFE on Monday, although earlier reports by local authorities spoke of 87 victims.The attack occurred Sunday night in the community of Kajuru Station, confirmed the chairman of the local council, Ibrahim Gajere.Community leader Hassan Anwalu told EFE by telephone that the attackers took more than 95 people.“They came at night and opened fire. They entered people’s homes and forced the villagers out before kidnapping them. More than 95 villagers were kidnapped,” Anwalu said, adding that “many people have left the village for fear of being attacked again.A member of the Kajuru Station Youth Association, Harisu Dari, also confirmed the incident.“The villagers are traumatized by this sad development. The government must re-strategize on how to deal with these terrorists,” Dari told The Punch newspaper.Likewise, the former spokesman of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) told EFE that the attackers “took more than 95 people into the forest.”“They fired sporadically during the attack around 10 pm before taking their victims away,” said Biniyat, now a member of SOKAPU’s committee of elders, who said 15 people were injured in the attack.“God only knows how many more will be kidnapped before the end of March. President Bola Tinubu must act because this is getting out of hand,” he added.EFE tried to contact the Kaduna police for more information about the incident but was unsuccessful.The abduction took place a day after at least fourteen people were kidnapped in the nearby town of Dogon Noma, also in Kajuru local government area.“Bandits invaded the community on Saturday (…) and abducted fourteen people, while one was seriously injured. The attacks on our community have been persistent since 2019 and there seems to be no end to it,” said the state lawmaker for Kajuru constituency, Usman Danlami Stingo.A week ago, at least 61 people were abducted in the town of Buda, also in Kajuru local government area.Buda is about 150 kilometers from Kuriga, where more than 280 students were abducted on Mar. 7 after gunmen attacked a school.Some states in Nigeria – particularly in the central and northwestern parts of the country – have suffered incessant attacks by “bandits,” the term used in the country to refer to criminal gangs that carry out mass robberies and kidnappings for large ransoms.The attacks continue despite repeated promises by the Nigerian government to end the violence, which has increased the deployment of security forces.Added to this insecurity is that caused since 2009 by the activity of Boko Haram in the northeast of the country and, since 2016, by its splinter, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). EFE